The Sea of Flames
by Vaia
Summary: A vengeful goddess. A cursed diamond. And a selfish prince willing to take upon all misfortunes that befall on him in order to be with the one he loves. [ItaHina] [AU] Other pairings undecided.
1. Prologue

**The Sea Of Flames**

Prologue

* * *

He stood stoically on the sandy shore of the beach. Inky, black strands danced playfully in the wind. Jet black eyes fixated on the blue fade between the ocean and the sky in horizon. In his right hand, he tightly gripped a small blue stone, the size of an average chicken's egg, but much sturdier than a hard boiled egg.

 _In his hand, was the miracle that saved him from death 23 times._

 _In his hand, was the catastrophe that killed 436 people._

The man, Itachi, held the egg shaped stone in front of him. The stone was the largest diamond found, up to date, and it took his country's best stonecutter eighty eight whole days to cut it. Eighty eight. But, it was worth it. The diamond's blue colour rivaled the ocean's deep blue, but the way it glistened in the sun's natural light outshone the ocean's own natural beauty. In the center of the diamond, there was a hint of red.

 _Like a flame— bursting in the middle of the ocean, the impossible, a miracle._

 _Like a drop of blood— dissolving into calm waters, a disturbance, the catastrophe._

Hearing the light footsteps behind him, he turned around.

"Will you give it back?"

Her light voice drifted across the ocean breeze like a chime and her dark blue locks flitted in the wind like ocean currents. Itachi walked towards her to close the distance between them. He cupped her face in his free hand and she leaned into his touch. Her hand reached up to caress the hand that caressed her. Itachi admired her gentle touch and delicate features. She had a heart shaped face with large doe eyes, a straight nose, and a small mouth, that, when she smiled showed a slight overbite, like she was showing him now. Her eyes were as round and pale as a full moon and just as mysteriously captivating.

If he was to describe her in one word, it would be 'ethereal.'

Hinata.

He was her's in both heart and body. However, he knew that she only belonged to him in heart. Her body belonged to the ones he hated. The ones that stole everything from him.

The ones who made him miserable.

And the ones who blessed him with Hinata's presence.

"No."

The cursed stone is the only reason why she stayed.

* * *

 ** _Additional Notes_** : I'm sure some of you have recognized the title of this story _The Sea of Flames_ as the cursed diamond in Anthony Doer's best sellerー _All the Light We Cannot See_. As a matter of fact, yes, this is based on the diamond's fable in the story. It was just one of those little myths within a story that kinda latches onto you, ya know?

Fun fact: while I was uploading the first chapter of this story, I was undecided on the genre this will fall into. I was unsure whether I should put Romance/Fantasy or Romance/Tragedy, because (surprise!) people will be dying in later chapters. Just a heads up.

Anyways, if you've never read/heard of the book, then I would suggest you read it in your free time. It's a great read full of parallelisms and metaphors. WII & Hitler trigger warnings. you have been warneddddd

Also LF: beta reader


	2. Part I: Chapter 1

*The rest of the story begins before the prologue. This begins to become obvious as the reader reads on, but this note is to prevent any confusion just in case.

* * *

 **.**

 **Part I: Eighty-eight Days**

Chapter 1: The Tenth Day

 **.**

* * *

When Itachi first awoke, he could hear the soft _clink clink_ of metal tools and a bright light showering above him. The next thing he noticed was the numbness of his body how drowsy he felt before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

 **.**

The second time he woke up, Itachi was greeted with what seemed like a thousand flurried voices all around him. The cacophony gave him a mild headache in his drowsy state and was instantly forced to shut his eyes as soon as he opened them due to the sharp pain from where he supposed was his eyes and the back of his head along with some other pains that shot through his nervous system. Whatever it was that incapacitated him, it only allowed him to make out snippets of the conversations going around the room.

 _"...He be okay..?"_

 _"What a miracle..."_

 _"_ _.._ _Stabbed in the heart..."_

 _"...Blessed by the Gods..."_

Itachi couldn't stay conscious long enough to hear the rest.

 **.**

By the third time Itachi woke up, he no longer felt the immense pain like he did during the second time he opened his eyes. Taking this opportunity, he finally gave the room he was in a look over. There was a large window to his right, a few feet away. Between the window and his bed was a wooden nightstand. Mahogany, maybe? Atop the nightstand was a big expensive looking vase with an even bigger bouquet of colorfully arranged flowers.

However, thanks to the unnecessary fresh flowers beside him, he was able to deduce that he wasn't left alone for long and that he should be expecting company soon.

Glancing over to his left, he could see the large double doors that opened inwards towards his room and the Uchiha crest which was embedded above the doors in the center. To his relief, and to his expectations, he was back home in his palace and it seemed like he was currently residing in one of the royal infirmary rooms.

Staring up at the white ceiling, he tried to remember how he got here. He remembered coming back from a meeting with the neighboring country about trade rights and taxes.

 **.**

Itachi was following a stream that had mostly dried up due to the hot summer sun when he and his attendants decided to stop for a break. They had scattered around for firewood and other necessities as they ushered Itachi to stay put. Normally, he would insist to go with them, but the meeting had really exhausted him. Itachi followed their advice and sat down by the dried riverbed and began to lie down when something caught his eye. It was a bright blue stone on the ground. At first he thought it was an egg that fell off a nearby nest and had somehow survived the fall, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was just a stone. A stone with an uncanny blue hue.

Perhaps he could ask some of the scholars back home?

He began to rub his fingers across the smooth, round surface of the rock. It seemed to be weathered down naturally and Itachi concluded that it was probably from the strong currents that ran in the waters during the winter, when the river wasn't dried up.

THUNK.

He heard the loud sound before the pain in the back of his head registered in his senses.

Attacks on Itachi wasn't abnormal, however, he wasn't in a place where a lot of people would know that _he_ is _Uchiha Itachi_ , the crowned prince of Konoha.

Ordinary bandits? A likely possibility.

Itachi let himself fall forwards face first into the ground to keep the illusion that the blow had knocked him out. Closing his eyes, he counted the sounds of the footfalls he heard. One... Two.. Four... Four people.

"C'mon, let's hurry up and raid this wagon before he wakes up," he heard one of them cry out. He could hear a few grunts and another wagon being pulled towards their campsite. It was smaller than the Konohan wagon, so Itachi didn't have to worry about them taking too much of their foods and provisions. They'll still have enough to last the journey back to Konoha. On their current path, at the slowest, they'll take one day and one night, and at their fastest, it should take them about a day.

Better to lie and wait for them to finish then, Itachi thought. There was no reason to start a fight with them. He was outnumbered, and while he should be able to take them out, he didn't want to risk underestimating them. Even if he was able to knock them out, what was he going to do with them? Tie them to a post? Bring them back to his country to jail them? He didn't even know which country these thieves were from. Risking a war seemed irrational.

So, he waited. Or, at least he planned to.

The next thing he heard was a female scream. He recognized it as one of his group's people. Rin, he believed was her name. She had come in place of his older cousin for the meeting.

Shit.

He wouldn't be able to face his cousin if anything happened to his wife. Feelings aside, it wouldn't be good politically either since his great grandfather was partial towards Obito, his cousin, and by extension, Rin, who was Obito's wife.

Without another beat, Itachi got up and ran directly to the first foreign figure he sees. It was a tall man with a lean build. Itachi quickly elbowed him in the diaphragm. Strong enough to knock the air out from his lungs. Using the bandit's moment of shock to his advantage, he lifted a knuckle to the man's temple to render him unconscious. Not stopping, he turned to the man beside the one he just knocked out and punched his solar plexus. Two left. He turned his head sporadically, trying to locate the other two and stopped at the sight of seeing three figures huddled together with their backs against a tree. Rin was in the middle and one of the men had a knife to her throat.

"Move and she dies."

Itachi frowned and studied them carefully. the one holding the knife seemed to be the only one with a weapon and the second one stood next to them with a rope in their hands.

So they intend to tie them to the tree. This could work to their advantage, thought Itachi. The moment they tell him to step forward with his hands in the air, he can do a bluff and knock the other two.

"Walk over here slowly," the man with the knife said, just as Itachi expected.

Itachi started walking towards them carefully. as he neared them, Itachi gave Rin a small smile.

Without letting the other two react, Itachi quickly kicked the man with the rope on the stomach away from them. He could see him doubling over. Within another breath, Itachi turned his eyes back to the fourth man. Rin had stomped on the man's foot and kicked him in the groin, in which Itachi found himself inwardly wincing a bit. It was nice that Obito hadn't chosen a spineless girl, though.

While the man was kneeling over his privates, Itachi had gotten the knife and went behind the ring leader to subdue him. Bringing the knife towards his neck like he had done to Rin, Itachi started his interrogation.

"Who do you work for?"

Itachi didn't personally think that they were experts hired by someone, but it was never too safe. Instead of receiving and answer, he got a grunt from the man. Looking over at the goods they had attempted to steal, he found only necessities piled in the wagon. Mostly medicine and water. None of the peace parting gifts from Suna were touched. Were they from a poor, nearby village at the border? Which side of the border?

"Where—"

Before Itachi could finish his next question, he felt a cold metal pierce through his chest. Widening his eyes, Itachi slowly turned his head behind him at the best he could. Cold metal? A sword? But, he only saw one weapon between the four of them. And he was holding it. However, lowering his eyes, he could see that there was indeed another weapon. The man he kicked earlier had stabbed his chest with a short sword. Looking at the man again, this time with about a foot's distance, he could see that there was a black strap for a sword amidst his attacker's black shirt. It must've camouflaged and blurred in when Itachi first gave the two of them a glance over.

If only his eyesight was as good as it used to be...

"Tch. Damn nobles!"

The man stabbed him again with the sword. Itachi could feel blood erupting up from his lungs. Unable to hold back, Itachi let out a violent cough filled with blood. He could feel one last thrust of the blade into his chest. Sometime between the stabbing, the man he captured escaped. The escaped man yelled something about getting out of here.

Itachi fell forwards, face first again. However, this time he was unable to control his fall so he felt the full impact of the ground this time. He could see the men squabbling about and helping their allies onto the cart full of pilfered goods. Not far from himself, he saw Rin's figure on the ground.

He should have given her the knife to protect herself, he thought.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was the distant cries of people coming towards him.

 **.**

Reflecting back on the incident, Itachi had realized something he hadn't when he first woke up. His eyesight was mysteriously much better than it had been before he had woken up. This was evident since he was able to see the Uchiha symbol on the clearly. He could see much further and clearer.

Absentmindedly, Itachi began to motion his hand above his eyes as if to test his 'new' eyes again. Before he did that, however, he realized he was holding something in his hand. Glancing over towards his left hand, he slowly opened his palm. Inside was the blue rock he found by the riverbed.

How had he managed to keep this in his hold for so long?

Bewildered, he lifted the stone to his face and carefully looked over it again. It looked almost like blue glass. Holding it over the light, it looked almost like solid water from the oceans. There was a tint of red in the middle which made it twice as stunning.

In the middle of his observation, he heard the door to his room click. Looking over to the door, he a man with silver hair walk in with an almost bored look in his face, if it wasn't for the hint of worry.

"Kakashi," Itachi acknowledged and sat up. The man was just like always. Never bothered to knock.

"Ohoh, you're up."

Kakashi's visible eye lit up in surprise and relief. Walking towards the window, he dragged the bench over towards the bed.

"Good to see you up again. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. How long has it been?"

Kakashi Hatake was one of Itachi's distant cousins. Kakashi's mother was a cousin of Itachi's aunt. However, after Hatake patriarch died, Obito's family took him in as a son, so they were just as close as cousins who saw each other on a weekly basis.

"Ten days since the surgery"

Ten days? For a wound of his caliber? He must've had an obviously confused look on his face because Kakashi answered his inner questions without him asking aloud.

"The doctors said it was a miracle you survived too. It was a 48 hour surgery and even after that, they worried if your heart would just stop working after the surgery."

"Why didn't it?"

"We got a new priestess with good medicine knowledge on the third day after the surgery. Before she came, there were always nurses and doctors coming in and out to regulate your heart. She and Sakura work pretty well together."

"A priestess?"

"Yeah, it was mostly after she came to help that your heart stopped acting erratically. That's why people call it God's miracle that you survived."

"And...Rin?"

Itachi hesitated a bit when he said her name. He knew that Kakashi,Obito, and Rin were all good friends from their childhood. Itachi could feel the metaphorical rock on him again as he asked him of Rin's condition.

There was a small silence before Kakashi answered.

"She... didn't make it."

More silence. They both hung their heads low.

"She was slit at the throat, and it was too late."

Warnings rang in the back of his head. Something was wrong. His heart wasn't too late, but her throat was. But he was still too tired to figure it out.

"How is Obito doing?"

"Madara is with him."

"And you?"

"Fine."

Itachi lowered his eyes and bent his upper body down towards Kakashi at the best he could and bowed to the other man. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly.

"I'm sorry"

Kakashi let out a small smile and gave Itachi a pat.

"Don't worry, no one blames you." Kakashi withdrew his hand. "Alright, now lift your head. It's bad if people see the prince bowing to me."

Itachi fell silent and didn't end his bow. He knew no one would blame him, but he still felt responsible for letting such a thing happen in his presence.

Seeing this, Kakashi decided to change the subject. Looking down at the prince, his eyes were drawn to the blue stone still clutched in his hands.

"What's that?" Kakashi asked, pointing to the object in Itachi's hand.

The sudden question lured Itachi out of his bow as he sat up to receive the question. Following the direction of the finger, Itachi saw that Kakashi was pointing the mysterious rock he had found. And still clung onto somehow.

"Some rock I found during the way back... It stayed with me all these days, somehow."

Itachi passed the stone to Kakashi who took it towards the light to study.

"Maybe you really are blessed by the gods."

"What?"

"This is a diamond," Kakashi answered. He said it as simple as if he was talking about the weather that Itachi found it hard to take seriously.

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. It's uncut so it looks like a pretty rock for now, but once you cut and polish it, it'll look like one of those diamonds you got in the throne room."

"Hn."

Kakashi handed it back to Itachi and in turn, he held it towards the light again. Itachi gave it a smack on the the nightstand's corners which made Kakashi jump a little due to the sudden action.

"Hey now... You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you and all your excuses for lateness," Itachi said, sarcastically.

Looking at the stone again, he couldn't find a single scratch it. However, the nightstand now had a noticeable dent on one of the corners.

"Do you trust me now," Kakashi asked, snidely.

Itachi didn't answer back. Instead, he held out the supposed diamond out to Kakashi again.

"Here, I'll leave it to you to take care of it— you know all the best artisans around here."

Kakashi gave it a split second of thought before he accepted Itachi's request.

"Well, then, I'll keep you updated on this—"

Two knocks resounded from the double doors and the they opened before either of them could utter a response. A cart made its way in through the doors first before Itachi could see the person behind the cart. It made little noise on the carpeted floors, but Itachi could hear the medicinal tools clanging slightly as the cart moved.

"Ah, Sakura, he's up," Kakashi said looking towards the door.

"Huh? Sensei, you shouldn't be here," Sakura scolded before turning to Itachi with a big smile. "I'm glad you're up, sir!"

Itachi gave the nurse a slight nod and Kakashi gave a lazy smile. "I was worried. Just ignore my intruding this time for old time's sake?"

Sakura gave him a sigh and waved him off. No matter who was her new teacher is, he was still her old tutor.

"Well, then, Itachi, this is Sakura. She's one of the leading factors that ensured your wellbeing."

Sakura tilted her head in a slight bow to Itachi. "We've met once before."

Itachi nodded. She was one of Sasuke's friends, if he remembered correctly.

"I'll leave Sakura to her job then. I'll see you later, Itachi." Kakashi got up and pocketed the stone. Neither of the them bothered to bid the silver haired man goodbye as he went through the door.

Sakura busied herself with setting up her medical tools and began her line of questioning about his health.

"So, then. Please tell me your name— sorry, it's protocol." Seeing Itachi and Kakashi together a few moments ago made it obvious that he hasn't gotten any major memory losses, but it was still her job to ask.

Not taking any offense, Itachi gave a nod. "Uchiha Itachi."

"And do you know why you're here?"

"I was attacked on my way back from a meeting in Suna. I suppose the other travelers with me saved me and now I'm recovering in the royal medical wing of the palace."

"Good." Sakura jotted a few notes on her medical clipboard. Putting on her latex gloves, she took out the stethoscope. "Breathe and and out for me."

Doing as she says, Itachi wondered what happened to the others from his journey. And the thieves?

"Any certain pains?"

"No."

Another mystery was his eyes. Did they somehow cure his eyesight while he was out as well? Sakura moved on to checking his heartbeat on his wrist.

"...My eyes..."

That comment made Sakura look up.

"Is there something wrong with them? We diagnosed a concussion since you were hit pretty hard from the back so that could have damaged your eyesight..."

Sakura instantly took out her mini flashlight and directed it towards his eyes. Itachi's pupils constricted as the light from her flashlight shined in.

"Nothing wrong with your brain's response times..."

"No, nothing's wrong of them. But, it seems like my eyesight is...Better?"

Itachi was still unsure how this came to be. And looking at Sakura's confused face, she was just as puzzled.

"Well, I can't say that we've done any modifications to your eyes—Oh!"

Sakura's eyes lit up as if she just figured out a mystery.

"Do you know something?"

"No, but we recently had a new addition to our team. She's only part time, but she's still very competent. She helped a lot with the medicines that helped with the faster recovery, you should ask her later."

Sakura had a huge grin on her face as she said this. She really enjoyed the new girl's company. Unlike her other partner, Ino, her new partner had a calmer demeanor and a soothing personality for the recovering patients. It also helped that she was well versed in medicines.

"Hmm...But I'm not sure if you're on her schedule today."

"It's fine if it's not convenient." As much as Itachi wanted to ask about the matter himself, he knew he wasn't the only patient within these walls.

"Haha, not convenient enough for the prince? Don't worry, I can pull some strings and switch up some schedule times."

"..Thank you." Was this alright? Itachi questioned it internally, but figured Sakura knew what she was doing.

"Well then, I gotta go," she said as she started loading up th items onto the tray again. "Push this button if you need anything from the nurses" She showed him a red button on the side of his bed. It was easily accessible to his left hand. "There's one on the other side as well."

Itachi gave a nod of understanding and Sakura flashed another smile.

"Congratulations, you're almost recovered! But, don't do anything reckless."

With that, Sakura headed out the door.

Once she was out, Itachi let himself frown. She was way too loud for someone who just woke up after ten days. If he remembered clearly, Sasuke's other friend, Naruto, was equally just as boisterous, if not more. Sasuke really knew how to pick them. Shaking his head, he let out a sigh. He was feeling tired again. Perhaps a nap would be fine.

.

When Itachi awoke, it was already dark. He could see the moon shining above his window. It allowed enough light in so that he didn't need to turn on any of the lights when he got up from his bed. On the nightstand by his table was a note that hadn't been there before he fell asleep.

 _To the Prince,_

 _Hello, Sakura told me you wanted to speak to me about your condition._ _There weren't many patients today, so the schedule was loose enough for_ _Sakura to_ _arrange for a change. But, it seemed like it was a bad time for_ _me to come. You were sleeping soundly and stable unlike the week before_ _so I've decided to leave you alone. I'll come back around in the morning_ _tomorrow, so you may ask your inquiries then. Congratulations on stabilizing._

 _-Hinata._

* * *

 _ **Additional Notes**_ : Have you tried reading this on 1/2 width? Like, wow. Looks so much better. Really helps in hiding my super short paragraphs.

Anyways. No Hinata this chapter. Maybe the next. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter and the direction that this story is going. Is it terrible? Wanna flame it? okay lemme know. Review. Nothing gets me typing more than angry reviews. salt me kiddies [:

I'd also like to add that I've never really liked the title I gave this fic, but my ever so creative brain couldn't think of anything else, so I'm open to suggestions.

 **Update** : I uploaded the second chapter of another itahina fic I was working on to this story by accident. (I name all my files in a dumb manner, so it wasn't surprising I derped when I uploaded it.) I'm so mortified. I think I caught my mistake quick enough so that people didn't really see it, but just in case, this is an update. oh my god i am so sorry


	3. Part I: Chapter 2

**Part I: Eighty-eight Days**

Chapter 2: The Other Side

* * *

It was an awkward situation to be in.

 **.**

It all started with her goddess's rage (not that she would say that out loud.) It was her rage that caused the earthquake which caused the tsunami to flood over the Sea God's most prized shrine. This happened more than five centuries ago and they were still bickering. Many of the details were already lost due to time, and many rumors about the cold war between the two had already spread across the deities. However, Hinata had personally been there when the event happened, so she knew the true details of the cold war. And, shamefully, it was indeed her goddess's fault.

It was during another one of her drinking outbursts when she lost in a friendly gamble match. In her drunken state, she had not only cracked the table they were gambling on, but also the grounds of the parallel world they were supposed to be supervising. Those grounds happened to be under the sea near the shores of the Sea God's first and largest shrine built by his followers.

While this happened, the Sea God was thankfully away on business, bringing water to dry lands and making oases in deserts. Being one of the worried attendants in the room, Hinata was the first one to break out of the stupor and volunteered to go on site and directly tend to the damages. However, when she got there, it seemed to be worse than what had been shown to them in their world.

There were houses out of array, pieces of debris that used to be many other things... The buildings were utterly crushed from the weight of the water. Looking at the flattened buildings surrounding her, she could only imagine the amount of casualties that was caused. She recognized the head of a stone lion, which used to be at the very front of the shrine, strewn along the debris, detached from its body. At best, Hinata figured the body was now grinded into sand instead of the proud limestone it used to be. Since the temple faced the sea (being the Sea God's temple and all), it had taken most of the damage. The large structures and walls were able to make the damage taken by the other half of the town into something survivable. But, that still left the other half of the town dead.

Seeing all the damage done, she wondered if she had taken a job out of her capability. Maybe Shizune would've been better for this job. Shizune was her goddess's, Tsunade-Sama's, best attendant. Hinata had heard of all the jobs that she was appointed to by Tsunade-Sama before Shizune was ultimately made as the head deity of Her shrine.

To make the situation worse, the Sea God had returned. Hinata was hoping to deal with the majority of the disaster while he was gone and hopefully appease his mood before he sees whatever was left of the disaster that Hinata had yet to fix. However, he had returned before anything could be done.

In the end, Hinata became the messenger between the two gods who had her do errands for both of them. It became a habit for the Sea God to steal Hinata away from any of the chores that Tsunade-Sama gave her in order to give her one of his own assignments to her. He would always pull her away from Tsunade-Sama's assignments saying it was about the tsunami crisis. Whether it was or not, Hinata had to do them regardless; most of them were to take care of the survivors' health. However, during a longer assignment that the Sea God had assigned her in, which involved taking care of the head priest's successor's recently declining health, Tsunade finally snapped. After all the other annoyances that he had committed against Tsunade-Sama, she finally snapped when he took her away for a week. During that week, Tsunade-Sama had arranged for Hinata to do the planning for the centennial ball that was to be held that week for all the gods.

Thankfully, Hinata was able to juggle both jobs at the same time, thanks to all the practice she had with their other double assignments they had her do prior. Unfortunately, the two Gods proverbially blew up at each other, after the five centuries of cold war between them.

The other Gods, seeing this, decided it was high time for them to stop fighting. Tsunade, being the Goddess of the terrains and ground and Gaara, the God of the seas and waters should not be fighting. Gaara, being the God of the Sea was needed to bring water to the sandy deserts that Tsunade created so that the other Gods' creations could survive. And Tsunade had to shape the terrains into something that could contain the waters in for the animals.

 **.**

This brought Hinata back to the awkward situation she was in. The five years of cold war between the two Gods had finally come into fruition. The gift that the other Gods had advised Tsunade-Sama to give had been lost.

Tsunade had meant for the gift, a raw diamond of a grayish-blue made from within the terrains of her creation, to flow down the river that led to Gaara's seas. However, without updated knowledge, Tsunade was unaware that the river dries up in the summer, so now the precious peace offering was lost. And with Hinata being the unofficial ambassador between the two, she had to find it.

She had to find it.

Hinata sighed out loudly when she found out that the stone was enchanted by Orochimaru, the god of the presiding laws of science that governed the physics of the other world. Aside from his godly duties, Orochimaru was also infamous for the experiments he did that often contradicted his own laws of science. This lead to many unexplained occurrences that happened in the human world which eventually became myths and fairy tales.

Normally the enhanced items he made had minor repercussions in exchanged for the fortune it'll give. They were usually as small as a paper cut or stubbing a toe on the corner of a table. However, it was different for humans. They weren't immortal like the gods and the deities so things of much higher degree would happen if it the diamond was carelessly kept. Thinking back at the other times that such items fell into mortal hands made Hinata's head hurt. There was an enchanted necklace which made one look as captivating as a Goddess, but started a war. There was another time when an enchanted flower fell down that cured all diseases, but left the user in solitude.

Personally, Hinata hoped it wasn't anything unnoticeable like the owner being in solitude for the rest of his or her life. It would be much easier to find if it was something big— something that would help news travel. As long as she went where the gossip was, she'll find the diamond.

 **.**

From the villages by the dried up river, the hottest piece of news seemed to be about a thievery that happened to the Prince of Northern lands. Coming back from a meeting in Suna, the prince was attacked by ordinary bandits living between the two Kingdoms. From this line of reasoning, she suspected it might've been stolen by the said thieves. Perhaps it was part of the stone's fortune that allowed them to have escaped the Royal Guards that must be looking for them right now.

Hinata decided to disguise herself as a traveling priestess out to help anyone that needed assistance. This allowed her more room to roam and since most of the people residing the Northern and Western lands were between the range of accepting religious beliefs to highly religious, she figured it shouldn't be a problem to go pass any guards.

 **.**

It took Hinata a day to find the thieves that raided the prince. There were only a few villages on the borderline and since they were small villages gossip traveled fast, so it wasn't too hard to find. This village was apparently the one that was the worst off compared to the others, but recently, they received an anonymous benefactor who donated many supplies and food. After meeting all the villagers, which was only about twenty people tops, Hinata made a list of possible candidates for the thieves. Excluding all the sick, children under the age of ten, and the elderly, there were only about five people who could have done it.

The first one is a man about five foot nine inches. He was one of the few who could still work efficiently. He had a strong build and was the one in charge of the firewood and other chores that included hard labor. His name is Ichirou, the first son of the village mayor.

The second suspect is the brother of Ichirou and the second son, Jirou. He looked healthy as well and helped with many chores. He walked with a slight limp that apparently happened due to his clumsiness of falling down the stairs—something that happened often according to the villagers.

The next person is a woman. She is someone with a strong will and a hope for the gods and Hinata is sure that Tsunade would love her. She's a little shorter than Hinata, but not by much, making her of average height. She helps with her sister's farm everyday ever since her sister became pregnant. Her name is Kana.

The fourth man is the farmer who owns the farm that Kana works in. With his wife pregnant, and the productivity low, he has the most motive to find an outside source to take care of her. His name is Tanaka.

The last person who could've been part of this is a sixteen year old boy named Yuto. He was a boy who wandered into this town when he was orphaned and the town took him in. Since then, he took it upon himself to take care of the town the best he could in return for their kindness. Hinata didn't want to believe such a sweet boy would commit thievery and murder, but she figured it wasn't in her place to judge.

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned her head towards the direction of the sound and saw Yuto running to her. Seeing him, she smiled lightly. When she came to the village, she found many of the villagers sick with a fever. It gave Hinata a valid excuse to stay for the villagers and when she proved herself efficient with medicines and tending to the sick, they wanted her to stay even more. While Hinata was flattered and thankful for the chance to investigate further, she wondered what happened to make almost half the villagers sick.

"What's wrong?"

"Haruka started burning up again."

Hinata frowned and followed Yuto who lead her into Haruka's shack. Feeling the patient's forehead, she was indeed burning up again, but not as bad as it was before. Hinata turned to Yuto and smiled.

"Don't worry, she'll be okay."

Yuto let out a sigh of relief.

"Can you bring me to your medicine shack again? I'll boil some herbs together that can help everyone recover quickly.

"Of course!"

Yuto bounded up again and dragged Hinata to a familiar looking shack. Once they were inside, Hinata walked over to the herbs and carefully examined the ones she needed in case it wasn't usable anymore.

"You know, you could stay here. I know it's a dingy village, but every here is grateful and loves you."

Surprised, Hinata turned around to face him, only to find him looking away blushing. He must not be used to telling people to stay for him. Hinata gently smiled and walked into his line of sight in order to force him to look at her.

"Thank you," Hinata said as she patted his head. But, she couldn't stay. Whether the stone was here or not, she wasn't allowed to stay. She was here to patch a peace treaty and return to Tsunade-Sama's side.

"Are you going to stay?"

Hinata paused.

Changing the subject, she asked, "Where did you get these supplies?"

"Hu—what do you mean? We got them from some unknown rich guy."

"I know you were one of the raiders two days ago."

Silence. Hinata could feel the tension in the room and she knew she was right. He was one of them.

"It's alright, I'm not with any authorities and I'm not here to take you to the capital."

Yuto let out a sigh. "Then what do you want? There's gotta be a reason why you asked that."

"I'm looking for something. You might have taken it with you along with the other goods. It's a blue stone. About this big."

Hinata shaped her hands together into a size of an egg. Yuto stared at her hands in thought.

"A stone that's blue? Nope."

Hinata let her disappointment show in her features and let out a sigh.

"Thank you."

Yuto saw her disappointment and frowned with her. Feeling bad, he decided to give Hinata an offer.

"I wasn't the only one in the raid, I can ask the others if they saw something like that."

Hearing that, Hinata's face beamed.

"Thank yo—"

"But, you have to stay until everyone's cured before I tell you."

Smiling, Hinata replied, "Of course."

 **.**

On the fourth day of Hinata's stay, the villagers were looking much better. As promised, Yuto tells her about what he has found out. According to him, they never took anything that looked like the stone that she described. However, one of them did see the man they attacked holding one like that.

"Come back to visit us some time," says a villager.

"I will," Hinata responds. Though, privately, she knows she may not have a chance to.

"Do you have enough food? Our crops are looking better again, so you should take some more." She knew Tanaka was lying about the crops but decided not to comment on that. The way he spoke to her was like a father sending off his child and Hinata appreciated that he saw her as family in the last four days.

"Thank you, but this is enough. The trip isn't too long."

Bidding her farewells, Hinata set north to the Konohan Capital. Once she was out of sight, she decided to shorten her journey using her natural powers given to her as a deity. Closing her eyes, Hinata slowly slipped back into the immortal realms. Here, in her own world, she could choose the place she wished to visit with more precision and much carefully in order to avoid any humans accidentally witnessing her sudden appearance.

Deciding on a spot under the shade of a tree about a hundred meters from the city entrance, Hinata slowly opened her eyes again to see the city walls approximately a hundred meters away. Looking around, she made sure there were no bystanders. While this method does prevent most accidents from happening, there was still a slim chance of a mistake.

In all of history, there were only about four percent of all the slips that she and her coworkers have done that resulted in a mistake. Either minor or major. The mistakes normally came from the five second interval between after combing through the area for human life forms and the actual warping.

Hinata felt ashamed to now be a part of that four percent of mistakes as she locked eyes with another person across the field.

 **.**

He was a fine man. Blond hair and blue eyes that looked like the clear skies above her. She guessed that he must be in his late teens by now, maybe around eighteen or nineteen. He was one of Tsunade-Sama's favorites. He worked as a disciple to the largest temple in Konoha and there was talk of him becoming the next head priest to stand next to the king as the first advisor.

Hinata supposed she could relax a bit knowing it was such a religious person who saw her and not a cynic. Smiling, she walked slowly towards him.

"Hello, Naruto."

.

He was a messenger of the gods.

That was what he and all the others in the temple told all the villagers who pray there. However, although he was a messenger, all they did was relay the teachings of the script. Studying it. Interpreting it into a modern use. And to calm people in times of worry. That was what a priest does. All his life, this is what he believed his job was to be when he studied the scrolls of information. There were some pieces that told stories of how they met and _talked_ to one of the holy beings which they served, but never once had he thought he would become the main character in those stories.

Standing in front of him, three meters away from him was a lady who had just appeared in front of him. He blinked. A hallucination?

She greeted him by his name.

No. She was real. She knew his name. A woman he had never met before knew his name. Dark blue hair. Almost black. Pale skin and even paler eyes. She looked almost regal— divine, inhumane. Those were not eyes of a regular human. He swallowed thickly.

In front of him was one of gods he prays to everyday. How does he address them again? Naruto can't remember as he stares at her, wide-eyed.

"H-Hello," He stammers.

 **.**

An hour later, Naruto learns that she is not one of the gods— just merely a servant, in her words. But he thinks that regardless of her status in her own world, she is still regarded as divine in this world. Her name is Hinata.

He walks her into the capital and the guards pay her no mind as he explained to them that she was a priestess from an allied temple and that she was here to help around, similar to an exchange student. The guards didn't ask. He was, after all, son of the current head priest and successor to the role. He learns that she is here on a mission, but she refuses to talk in an open area full of ears so he invites her into one of the inner rooms of the temple where people could speak privately.

Naruto sets a teapot and two cups on the table and gestures the tea towards her.

Hinata takes a sip and gives a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Without Naruto, she wasn't sure if she would've gotten in as easily as she did. She saw the way the guards had inspected the other visitors extremely thoroughly and she was certain that there was no way she would've gotten in without something to prove her identification. On her way to the temple, Hinata thought that maybe it was no accident that Naruto bumped into her. Maybe it was Tsunade-Sama helping her on this mission. Giving a silent prayer of thanks, she turned to the blond in front of her again.

"It has been my Goddess's will that I find a precious stone that has been lost during its deliverance to the Sea God."

"Your Goddess? So you serve...?"

"Tsunade-Sama."

Naruto nods and hums in thought.

"And this precious stone you gotta find...It's here?"

"Yes." Hinata paused. It wasn't quite here in the temple, she suspected. "I believe it may be with the royal family of this citadel."

"In other words, you'll need access to the palace in order to search for it."

"Yes."

"In other words, you'll need our influence as the royal family's temple."

Yes, she would. There was no way she could do it otherwise without being suspicious. A traveling priestess cover up would work in a small town, but in a city this large, and the capital where the King and his family lived— that wasn't a story that would hold.

Doing the only thing she could offer, Hinata lowered her head into a bow.

"Please. It regards the thinning relations between the Goddess of the Earth and the God of the Sea."

* * *

 _ **Additional Notes:** _ Yuto is so ever slightly based on Jutta (pronounced: Yutta), Werner's little sister in _All the Light We Cannot See_. But really tho, just the name. Expect more mini references to the book in the future as tribute to the book.

Which of the five that Hinata mentioned were the four that attacked Itachi? Find out nex- or don't. This was in Hinata's POV, so she doesn't really care to find out who actually did the deed if it doesn't involve finding the diamond. This chapter was basically necessary to explain some of the details of Hinata's world as well as her thought process.

How am I doing with these chapters? I feel like my writing is a little roundabout. Real talk though, tell me about what to fix. Also, still looking for a beta reader if anyone wants to volunteer. It's embarrassing to read my own writing v/ / /v

Also, a reader asked in a review last chapter: what time period is this going to be? Well it's almost nowhere and somewhere. This is not in our universe obviously, but it is based on our history. I put some hints in this chapter about the time period it will be based on for those who don't read the notes. It is a time after Helen of Troy, probably after Rapunzel is forever alone in a tower, and maybe after the stethoscope (the one Sakura used last chapter) was invented, and definitely before cellphones were invented.

Here's the answer: circa 1820-1850. subject to change. ( :


	4. Part I: Chapter 3

**Part I: Eighty-eight Days**

Chapter 3: Belle Laide

* * *

She was nothing like he expected.

Itachi had almost missed her presence yet again. Itachi was a light sleeper so he was surprised when he woke up that morning to find her already in his room. She sat on a chair placed next to his bed. She had one of her legs crossed over her other one and an elbow resting on her knee. Her hand was in a fist which supported her chin up as she stared at the folded newspaper held in front of her by her other hand.

"Who are you?"

She turned her head slightly so that she could meet his eyes. She was foreign to him. And to his city. That much, he knew. She had eyes of such a pale color, it might as well be white. Maybe he should have asked 'what' she was instead.

She smiled at him. It was the kind of smile a stranger gives when they don't mean to offend someone. The kind that people don't think twice about.

"Hello." But in a week, Itachi will realize this wasn't a smile he could ever forget. "My name is Hinata."

 **.**

In the end, it turned out that Hinata had done nothing to his eyes. She did, however suggest that it might have been some of the healing side effects from the herbs. Some of the concoctions she brewed had double uses. But, even she had doubts in the information that she offered. Going from partially blind to 20/20 vision in less than a month was... unheard of.

"...says that it'll take maybe three months for it to be done."

"What?"

Itachi wouldn't want to admit it, but he lost his focus while Kakashi was speaking to him about what he missed while he was unconscious. He insisted the head nurse to discharge him by tomorrow morning so he could resume his duties. Surely, his once clean desk in his office would be littered with stacks of untouched papers he'll have to go over due to his absence. Itachi had to get to them as soon as possible before it piles up even more.

Which was why Itachi had asked Kakashi to update him on all the events that happened during his slumber. However, he found himself wondering when the man will get around to talking about the new residents who immigrated to the capital. _Where did the girl with the blue hair and white eyes come from?_

She was intriguing to say the least. Her eyes were white. The color of her eyes practically blended into her sclera and her pupils, almost nonexistent. Did she even have pupils? Itachi frowned. Her supposed pupils were also so light, unlike the usual black color of normal pupils, that he wasn't sure whether they were her pupils or just a cast of a shadow.

Itachi crossed his arms. _Was it a disease that made them like that?_ No. She looked perfectly healthy and the guards wouldn't let her in if she had anything deadly. Besides, she was a healer herself, so it was unlikely. Just what were those eyes? It was unlike anything he's ever witnessed, and he's seen a lot of things as the future ruler of this country.

"Uh. Hello?" Kakashi snapped his fingers in front of Itachi to capture his attention. And it worked. Itachi gave Kakashi a look of annoyance. Peeved that Kakashi tried to gain his attention in such a childish way and angry at himself for falling for it.

"What," Itachi asked again, only this time, with annoyance.

"I answered your last 'what,' now answer my 'what.'"

Itachi frowned. What did the older man ask him?

"I asked you what was on your mind."

Did he? Itachi couldn't recall. Then again, he wasn't very attentive either. Kakashi could have told him Suna wanted to wage a war against them and he still would've been too preoccupied with his thoughts to hear him.

Deciding it was only fair to answer the other man, Itachi sighed in defeat.

"Who is Hinata?"

There was a pause and a silence enveloped them before Kakashi spoke.

"She's..." Itachi could see him purse his lips under the movement of his mask. "She wasn't in my jurisdiction to know."

Itachi blinked in surprise. While his face remained stoic to strangers, Kakashi recognized the emotion that Itachi just displayed. The masked man sighed and leaned back into the chair before responding to Itachi's unspoken question.

"She was taken in by Naruto himself."

Itachi nodded. Naruto might be one of Kakashi's former students and younger than the two, but despite the large age gap, Naruto's position was still clearly above Kakashi's rank of a duke.

"But, rumors are that she comes from a temple in another city of ours and that Naruto brought her here for marriage."

"Marry? To Naruto?" Itachi was surprised before, but this time, he could hardly contain his current surprise as he heard what just came out of Kakashi's mouth. They were rumors, but it was still a shock to think that Naruto would be getting married already. He was, what? Twenty? Not even his little brother who was the same age as Naruto was thinking about marriage yet.

Kakashi stroked his chin. "Yeah. They say Naruto met her during his visits to the other cities the other month."

...For someone to become so smitten with another in less than a month. Was that possible?

"Wasn't Naruto courting Sakura?"

He could remember Sasuke ranting to him about how Naruto always needed his help as a wingman.

"Feelings changed? He did stop coming to the hospital to bother Sakura recently. I just figured it was Minato keeping him busy."

Well, Naruto did look like the idiot to change his mind easily.

"Do you think Sasuke is thinking about marrying soon, too?" If his little brother was best friends with someone as fickle as Naruto... He wouldn't be surprised if some of the blond's traits rubbed off Sasuke.

"Uh...Probably not..?" Kakashi was a little concerned with Itachi's behavior now. Rather than hearing him speak about boring politics and news updates, Itachi would rather pay attention to gossip. This was very concerning for the silver haired man. "Itachi, are you okay?"

"What?"

Kakashi was beginning to think Itachi's favorite one-word-sentence was 'what.'

"I mean, do you feel okay?" The older man gestured to his head. "Like, in the head? They say you were hit pretty hard."

Catching on, Itachi frowned, unamused. "Yes, I believe my analytical skills and reasoning is still working."

"Good to know. It's weird for you to want to know gossip. I thought you were a facts only person."

"All gossip holds some truth. You should know that."

"I suppose so. Well, if you want to know more about Hinata, you'll have to find out on your own. I'm not allowed to know, but you are."

Itachi nodded. He'll look it up when he's back in his office tomorrow. Probably during his lunch break when he's free to do his own things. Wait... Itachi had been so preoccupied with her unworldly eyes that he missed the most important piece of information about her.

"What is her surname?"

 **.**

She didn't have one. Itachi sat back in his office chair as he thought back to the conversation he had with Kakashi yesterday. This 'Hinata' was a complete mystery to him. Not even her last name was known to him.

On his desk were books on genetics and unique traits people were known to be born with as well as traits that stayed with people after fighting off illnesses and the such. When his secretary gave him a wary smile after delivering him these books to him, he couldn't help but compare it to the smile Hinata gave him. He could understand how Naruto may have switched his affections from Sakura to Hinata after seeing that. She was certainly...unique. And Itachi was sure that the white eyes would've looked horrifying on anyone except her.

She had the gentle kind of face that looked like she was incapable of anger and rage. One could only feel calm when looking at her. It was like an aura of peace surrounded her. Perhaps that was why he hadn't noticed her when she first entered the room. Maybe that was why he hadn't responded in a threatening way when he woke up to find her sitting patiently on the guest chair, waiting for him to wake up. Before Itachi could fully realize he had sat on his office chair just thinking about Hinata, the doors to his office burst open unceremoniously.

"Yo, Itachi, I heard you're back on your feet already."

"Kisame... Knock or I'll have to start making you wait outside until my secretary let you in."

It was something Itachi threatened to do many times in the past, but Kisame just brushed it off, knowing there wasn't much he could do. Kisame was a marquees of the Kiri Empire and ambassador to their countries. There really wasn't anything any of Itachi's subordinates could do to hold him back from bursting through Itachi's doors without prior notice.

"Don't be such a sour face. I come bearing gifts." Kisame held up a picnic basket and Itachi guessed that he meant food. As soon as Kisame set the basket on Itachi's coffee table, the taller man rudely threw himself on Itachi's couches and laid on it like a bed with his feet dangling over the arm of the couch. Itachi frowned. This man was only an asshole— excuse me, improper with a few people and Itachi was unfortunately one of the few people who Kisame was like this with. Itachi blamed it on the fact that they've known each other since their early teens. Before Itachi could retort, his office door opened again. This time, it was in a much quieter way, but the knock was still absent. When will people start knocking on his door first? Itachi turned to the door and was readying his lecture for the two uninvited guests.

"Nii-san." But, since it was his little brother, he supposed it was fine.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the big man sprawled on Itachi's couch. "Kisame..." Sasuke can't say he really liked Kisame, but seeing the basket of food on the table, he decided to sit on the couch across from where Kisame was and grab a sandwich.

"Hey there, little brother," Kisame grinned at the younger Uchiha. Sasuke decided to ignore him.

"You only woke up two days ago and you're already back in the office," Sasuke asked.

"Papers will pile up." Itachi sighed and decided to join the two and eat the lunch Kisame brought.

"By the way, Nii-san, my guards caught the guys who attacked you."

Itachi raised a brow. Captured. So that meant they were from his side of the border.

"Hm...I see..."

"Hah! You've really grown Sasuke. I remember when you were just a kid trailing after me and Itachi." Kisame sat up and extended his arms towards Sasuke in a mocking grandeur. "And now, here you are. Capturing your big brother's enemies for him."

Sasuke growled at him. "Shut up, you fish lover."

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose as he groaned internally. He did not need to listen to them argue and pick a side on his first day back. Grabbing a sandwich from the basket, Itachi stood up to walk back to his desk.

"I'm going back to work. Get out," he dismissed them.

"Itachi," Itachi could hear the whine in Kisame's voice and prepared for the worst. "You gotta stop working all the time. Get out of here. You could meet the woman of your life."

Ugh. "I'm not even thirty yet. I don't need to think about that."

"The hell? Is that when you're thinking of marrying?" Great, now Sasuke's judging him on this with Kisame.

"I don't normally agree with mini-you over here, but he's right." Sasuke sent a dirty look towards Kisame at that. "Even Naruto's getting hooked."

That caught Itachi's attention.

"Isn't that just a rumor?" Itachi turned to Sasuke for confirmation. If anyone would know, it had to be his little brother who would definitely be asked to be Naruto's best man for the wedding. But, he just shrugged.

"He's been too busy to even bother me at work these days."

Itachi's eyebrows unconsciously furrowed together and let out a frown. Sasuke, unused to seeing his older brother looking troubled decided to amend his statement. "Uh... I'm sure they're baseless rumors. I'm sure he's actually busy because he's taking over his father soon, so you don't have to worry about having an incompetent priest to advise you when you're king."

Itachi felt relieved at hearing that and let out a sigh. "Yes, it would look unethical if I was to replace him in my court."

Kisame snorted. Itachi wouldn't have replaced Naruto anyways since he was important to Sasuke.

"Have you guys seen the girl he's been with? What's her name? Hana...Himawari?"

"Hinata," Itachi corrected Kisame.

Kisame raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Yeah, that was her name."

"You've met her, Nii-san?"

Itachi nodded. "She was one of the nurses."

"What do you think of her," Kisame asked. "I don't think Naruto's cut out for her. He's too loud and she's too...not."

Itachi could see what his friend was saying. For the few short moments he's met her, he could tell she was the reserved type, unlike Naruto who was bold, daring. One day, Naruto would overwhelm her and leave her in the dust. The blond wasn't one to patiently wait for anything or anyone which was probably why he was adamantly courting Sakura, instead of waiting for them to develop a friendship first before courting her.

"I don't think you're one to be judging, Kisame," Sasuke said, feeling like he had to defend his best friend even though he wasn't here. "Didn't you break up with a girl because she couldn't make the sushi right."

"The way to a man's heart is through the stomach." Kisame was the only one who grinned to his own joke. Already used to the Uchiha brothers' stoic faces, he didn't feel offended when they didn't laugh along with him.

Ignoring them, Itachi decided to voice his own observations. "She has peculiar eyes."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," Kisame replied and walked over to examine the books on Itachi's desk more carefully. Picking one up he asked, "Is that why you have all these books?"

Itachi nodded and Sasuke decided to walk up to his brother's desk to see for himself. Flipping through the book focusing on illnesses that affects the eyes and vision, Sasuke said "Well, I can tell you now it's not a disease. Naruto wouldn't bring her in if that was the case."

"I thought the same. But, it never hurts to be sure."

"If you want, I can set up a meeting for you in the temple so you can just ask directly."

"That would be nice."

Sasuke nodded. "When do you think you'll be free?"

Glancing over at the paperwork in his room, Itachi begrudgingly decided, "A week." Itachi figured he'll be able to finish in four to five days if he worked nonstop, but decided to leave a few days in between for unforeseen circumstances.

"Alright then, thanks for the food, shark head," Sasuke said as he finished the last of his sandwich and headed out the door. "I'll let Naruto know." Sasuke called out before shutting the door.

Itachi looked at Kisame, sending a mental message of 'your turn' as he pointed towards the door.

Ignoring the gesture, Kisame scratched his head before finally deciding to ask, "This is the first time you've been interested in a girl, huh?"

Itachi frowned and was about to object before Kisame cut him off.

"—Izumi doesn't count. You just gave her attention out of pity when she said she was diagnosed with cancer."

Itachi's frown grew wider. "Where are you going with this."

"To think that the first girl that catches your eye is taken."

The frown on Itachi's normally impassive face grew impossibly wide (for him, anyways) and it looked like a normal person's frown, but on him, it meant that Itachi was absolutely not amused. If Kisame had been employed by Itachi, the other man could look forward to getting his salary docked, by a lot.

"Well, allegedly taken, anyways," continued Kisame. "I don't blame you for thinking this way, she has a really unique appearance. I know you have a love of unusual things—"

"Out."

Kisame responded with a smirk that read 'I-know-something-you-don't' and pocketed his hands in his pant pockets. "Hey, I'm just trying to remind you that you're a guy too."

Itachi almost rolled his eyes at that comment. "Well, thanks, I'm sure your reminder will come to be quite useful the next time I wonder which bathroom to go into." Seeing that his friend wasn't going to remove himself from his office any time soon, Itachi decided to prompt him more by going to the door and opening it wide for him.

Finally getting it, Kisame began walking out. "Hey, let me know when you want to peek into the women's bath, then"

" _Bye,_ " Itachi said before slamming the door just as the fish lover's foot was on the other side.

 **.**

Just as Sasuke promised, Itachi got an appointment with the temple priests. In actuality, it was just the annual formalities moved up a few months. He's supposed to greet all the temple workers and make sure all facilities were working and in order so it worked just as well as a regular appointment. He'll still be able to meet with Hinata—and Naruto— personally.

But now, he wasn't sure if he was ready to meet the girl who saved his life again.

After asking a temple worker, he was directed towards the courtyard. The courtyard of the main temple is a large open area which has been converted into a garden decorated by a fountain in its center. And true to the temple worker's word, he found Hinata there.

She sat on the edge of the fountain and she must have been there for a while. Wet spots littered the sleeves of her robe where the drops of water fell from the spray. Her feet dangled slightly and one of her geta shoes were halfway falling off due to gravity. Hinata faced away from him as she stared into the fountain water. The water crashed down and made large ripples in the water. But, what Itachi focused on the most in this scene were the tears that made the smaller ripples in the water.

Hinata was crying.

Itachi immediately thought back to when he first met her— she had greeted him with a simple smile, but it was stunning, and he decided that the simple emotion he saw then was _much_ better than the complex one she had now. She had a hand cupped over her mouth as she stifled her sobs.

 _No_ , Itachi thought. He wasn't good with emotions and he certainly wasn't good with comforting others. He wasn't ready to see Hinata now. And for the first time in a long time, he felt scared. Scared he might say something that would hurt her further. Not knowing what to do, Itachi turned and left.

* * *

 _ **Additional Notes**_ I meant to update weekly but shit happened, so... yeah shit happened. I'm also thinking of editing some of the other chapters already, while we're still in the beginning chapters but well...

/lazy zz

Also, the Izumi I mentioned in this chapter is the Uchiha Izumi from Itachi Shinden. Uhm. I don't really think of it as cannon since it wasn't written by Kishimoto, but I figured I should maybe mention her, for when I want to build on Itachi's past relationships.

Question of the day: What kind of car does Itachi drive?

(whispers: a Nissan)

This is more for me to keep track of the days left in the arc, but you guys can use it, too, to keep track with me. (`ヮ`)/

 **10/88**


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